This Week's Matchup
UCCS Men's Basketball (9-4, 4-3 RMAC) will travel north to Denver, Colo. this week to prepare for a single road contest against No. 20 Regis University at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 8.
 
Game Coverage
Live Stream: https://www.rmacnetwork.com/gomountainlions/
Live Stats: https://regisrangers.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
 
Last Time Out

• UCCS split their two home games this past weekend with a 78-71 loss to Colorado Mesa University on Friday night and a bounce back win over Westminster College, 89-59, on Saturday.
• The Mountain Lions led the Mavericks after one half of play at a score of 36-31, but CMU came to outscore UCCS 47-35 in the second half where the Mountain Lions shot 29.41 percent from the field and 13.33 percent from beyond the arc. CMU finished the game with five of their nine student-athletes scoring double-digits and the team shooting 47.4 percent from the field. UCCS' Jon'il Fugett paced the team by scoring a season high 21 points as William Becker recorded another great defensive performance by notching three blocks.
• New Year's Day was a complete turnaround for the Mountain Lions as a 30-point victory over the Griffins was sparked by one of the best three-point shooting performances in nearly five years. A total of 16 UCCS three-pointers were netted, the most since Jan. 6, 2017, which fueled a season best 44.4 percent from long range and 51.4 percent from the field. Wyatt Dolberry shot and rebounded his way to a double-double by notching 17 points and 10 rebounds in the win as he and Geoff Kelly each made a game high three shots from beyond the arc.

RMAC Records/Standings

• At a conference record of 4-3, the Mountain Lions are sixth in the RMAC Standings.
• Two teams remain undefeated in conference play with Black Hills State University sitting atop the standings at an 9-3 overall record and 7-0 RMAC record. Regis sits right behind the Yellow Jackets at a 5-0 RMAC record and 10-1 overall record.

The Series

• UCCS and Regis are slated to play their 56^th all-time game on Saturday with the Rangers leading the series 16-39.
• It's been nearly a year since the last time the Mountain Lions and Rangers have battled one another. The most recent matchup was on Jan. 26, 2021 where Regis won at a final score of 74-69 inside the Gallogly Events Center.

Scouting Regis

• Regis (10-1, 5-0 RMAC) lost their season opener to Lubbock Christian University on Nov. 12 but have since turned it around by winning their last 10 games. The Rangers' two games last weekend against Black Hills State and Chadron State College were both postponed due to COVID protocols leaving their last game played on Dec. 18 when they topped Western Colorado University on the road, 85-60.
• The Rangers are currently scoring 82.9 points per game for the fourth highest scoring average in the conference off a 47.7 field-goal percentage, the RMAC's third highest three-point percentage at 37.1 percent, and second-best free throw percentage at 76.4 percent.
• At a scoring margin of 10.0, Regis is allowing the seventh most points in the conference (72.9) as opponents are shooting on average 45.5 percent from the field.
• As a team, Regis has proven to force turnovers this season with opponents averaging 17.6 turnovers per game as the Ranger defense is registering 9.9 steals per game for the highest average in the RMAC.
• The starting five for Regis has remained the same for all 11 games with Brian Dawson, Will Cranston-Lown, Troy Brady, Kevin Ebiriekwe, and Alex Cartwright making every start.
• Dawson is pacing the Rangers with a scoring average of 17.9 by shooting 45.8 percent form the field, 33.3 from three-point, and 92.1 percent from the free throw line for the best percentage in the RMAC.
• Cranston-Lown has been successful in spreading out the ball by posting the second-best assists per game average in the conference (4.5) as he leads the league in assist/turnover ratio at 2.7. The Australian native has seen the most court time for Regis by playing 32.2 minutes per game where he is shooting a field-goal percentage of 50.9 for the season and averaging 13.9 points per game.
• Guard Troy Brady has been the go-to from long range with a three-point percentage of 42.6 percent and a team high 26 made threes. Brady is the third Ranger to average double-digits on the season with a 10.5 scoring average as he also holds a 42.2 shooting percentage from the field.
• Kevin Ebiriekwe (24, 2.2), Cranston-Lown (22, 2.0), and Brady (20, 1.8) each have 20 or more steals for the season and rank top-5 in the league for steals per game as Ebiriekwe ranks second and leads the team with 53 rebounds.

Hot Takes

• The Mountain Lions remain atop the RMAC in scoring margin (12.8) by averaging the second most points in the RMAC (84.0) while allowing the fourth lowest scoring average (68.2). The RMAC's second best field-goal percentage belongs to UCCS at 49.3 percent with the Mountain Lion defense holding strong by limiting opponents to the third lowest shooting percentage in the conference (42.1 percent).
• By out-rebounding every team so far this season, UCCS has boasted the best rebounding margin in the RMAC and fourth best in NCAA Division II as they have totaled the eighth most rebounds in the nation (555). The Mountain Lions are holding the opposition to the lowest rebounding average in the conference at 30.6 as they are brining in a league high 42.7 for a rebound margin of 12.1.
• UCCS is more than doubling Regis' blocked shots (20) on the season with 55 as William Becker's 11^th most blocked shots in the country (24) are more than what three schools in the RMAC have as a team. Becker is not only blocking shots but making shots as he holds an impressive field-goal percentage of 64.6.
• The Mountain Lions have found scoring opportunities better than any other team in the RMAC as UCCS is totaling a conference high 17.31 assists per game. Three Mountain Lions have tallied 30 or more assists on the year with Parker Gaddis leading the way at 51 assists, ranking as the fifth most in the conference. Jon'il Fugett and Jezza McKenzie are also dishing out assists with 37 and 33 assists, respectively.
• Top-3 in the RMAC in scoring is Alijah Comithier with a scoring average of 21.6 as he's also sitting eighth in the conference with a field-goal percentage of 54.2 percent.
• From three-point, guards Jon'il Fugett and Jezza McKenzie are each finding success by shooting 36 percent, and 36.2 percent, respectively. Fugett is also shooting 42.9 percent from the field and is averaging 11.0 points per game while claiming a team high 17 steals. McKenzie has continued to shoot the ball well from the field with a field-goal percentage of 44.1 percent as the Australian native has brought in a team high 76 rebounds that ranks 10^th in the RMAC.
• Wyatt Dolberry has been a force off the bench as the redshirt sophomore has notched two double-doubles this season by averaging 5.3 rebounds per game and shooting 41.7 percent from the field, 30.6 percent from three-point, and averaging 8.1 points per game.
• Geoff Kelly, Fugett, and McKenzie are the only three Mountain Lions to start all 13 games this season.
• Head Coach Jeff Culver holds a 9-8 all-time record against Regis and is currently three wins from 150 career wins at UCCS.

UCCS Under Head Coach Jeff Culver

• Jeff Culver, who led UCCS to its first RMAC championship in program history, is in his 10th season as the Head Coach of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's basketball program in 2021-22. He's coached the only NBA Draft pick and the only All-Americans in program history in the past eight years.
• In 10 seasons as head coach, Culver holds a .561 winning percentage with a 147-115 overall record that includes, seven RMAC Tournament appearances, one RMAC Tournament Championship, a 5-6 RMAC Tournament record, two NCAA Tournament appearances, and a 1-2 NCAA Tournament record.

Upcoming Games

• UCCS Men's Basketball begins a four-game home stint next week starting with Adams State University on Friday, Jan. 14 and Colorado State University Pueblo on Saturday, Jan. 15.

 
SOCIAL
Twitter - @GoMountainLions
Instagram - @gomountainlions 
Facebook – Go Mountain Lions
 
As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.